Rockstar Reaffirms Commitment to Single-Player Mods as OpenIV Comes Back to Life

ffronw

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Oct 24, 2013
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Rockstar Reaffirms Commitment to Single-Player Mods as OpenIV Comes Back to Life

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1415/1415828.jpgOpenIV has returned from being hit with a cease-and-desist thanks to coordinating with Rockstar Games on a new patch.

The Grand Theft Auto mod community has been in an uproar of late thanks to Take-Two issuing a cease-and-desist to popular modding tool OpenIV [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/170569-GTA-Mod-Tool-OpenIV-Gets-Cease-and-Desist-from-Take-Two]. But the cries of outrage have apparently been heard, as OpenIV has returned after working on a new patch with Rockstar.

When the cease-and desist was issued earlier this month, Rockstar Games issued a statement that said, "Unfortunately OpenIV enables recent malicious mods that allow harassment of players and interfere with the GTA Online experience for everybody. We are working to figure out how we can continue to support the creative community without negatively impacting our players."

After the shutdown, OpenIV developer Yuriy "Good-NDS" Krivoruchko told Motherboard [https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ywz87k/rockstar-games-talks-publisher-into-leaving-grand-theft-auto-v-modders-alone] that is "possible that some modders have used OpenIV to impact GTA Online." He also said that he never designed the tools for that purpose.

Rockstar says [https://support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/115009494848] that it has had discussions with Take-Two, and the publisher has "agreed that it generally will not take legal action against third-party projects involving Rockstar's PC games that are single-player, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property (IP) rights of third parties." That being said, there are also a number of restrictions as well. Rockstar says,

"This does not apply to (i) multiplayer or online services; (ii) tools, files, libraries, or functions that could be used to impact multiplayer or online services, or (iii) use or importation of other IP (including other Rockstar IP) in the project. This is not a license, and it does not constitute endorsement, approval, or authorization of any third-party project. Take-Two reserves the right to object to any third-party project, or to revise, revoke and/or withdraw this statement at any time in their own discretion. This statement does not constitute a waiver of any rights that Take-Two may have with respect to third-party projects."

While this does mean that OpenIV is now back in action, it's worth noting that the restrictions laid out here are generally the same reasons originally given for the initial cease-and-desist. Also, Take-Two saying that it "generally" will not take action doesn't rule out the possibility of select single-player mods still getting the ax.

All that said, it's good to see the community's concerns being addressed, and modding being brought back to life got the GTA series. Let's just hope some bad apples don't ruin it for everyone else.

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fix-the-spade

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It sounds rather like someone at Rockstar has explained to the folks at Take Two how modders and hackers actually operate, as well as pointing out that games that aren't mod friendly in the slightest (like Overwatch, Call of Duty, EA-Everything) are still beset by hackers.

It's good that Rockstar has the kind of pull at Take 2 to make them reconsider their actions. I can't think of any other developers that are so important to their publisher.
 

Arnoxthe1

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Yeah, even with this, I still don't think giving T2 any money at all is a good idea. That little cease and desist was super bullshit.
 

Veldel

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I think the massive backlash also had to do with it. The steam page for GTA5 was doing a complete turnaround and Rockstar loves there critical acclaim.
 

Ugicywapih

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ffronw said:
Rockstar issuing a cease-and-desist to popular modding tool OpenIV [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/170569-GTA-Mod-Tool-OpenIV-Gets-Cease-and-Desist-from-Take-Two].
Wasn't that done by Take Two?
 

ffronw

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Oct 24, 2013
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Ugicywapih said:
ffronw said:
Rockstar issuing a cease-and-desist to popular modding tool OpenIV [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/170569-GTA-Mod-Tool-OpenIV-Gets-Cease-and-Desist-from-Take-Two].
Wasn't that done by Take Two?
Yes. That was an unforced error, and has been corrected. Thanks for pointing it out.
 

DeGoon

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Bad PR move to begin with, and now this salvage attempt. The response looked like something to show some restraint, but still showed they were going to be "tough" on hackers. Companies that do this think the big PR move will make them look great and have people talking about them, which they never do, but when it goes sour (and usually does) it just makes them look worse than their last stunt.